Shizuka's missions
by Kazuki Naruse
Summary: This is meant to be a prequel type thing for the series, sort of a way to avoid everything that happened. Please read the series before reading this! No idea when the next update will be, but I don't plan on giving up any time soon so don't lose hope, even if it takes a while! :)
1. Prologue

Shizuka stood quietly, watching Hibiki work on an English assignment. She struggled a bit with verbs and the order of the words in the sentence.

"Are you sure you don't want my help?" He asked, his eyes seemingly closed with his black hair hanging in front.

"I can do this myself Shizuka." She raised a hand and waved him away.

A small smile appeared on his face and he moved back, watching her before leaving the room. With nothing else to do, he went to his mother's room.

She was lying on a futon, her blind eyes closed as usual. Hearing the door open, she said "Shizuka? Is that you?"

"You always know." He said with hints of laughter in his voice.

"You're footsteps are different from Hibiki's." She says. "How is your sister doing?" She turns her head towards Shizuka, even though she cannot see him. Her blind eyes have not been able to see since the car accident shortly before Hibiki was born.

As Shizuka sat down and started talking with his mother, he had no idea what would take place seven days later.

There was only one way to avoid the entire situation, but would Shizuka, with Hibiki's help, decipher the cryptic messages in time? Would they realize how important it is before it's too late?

An hour later, Shizuka returned to his room, where he noticed a message appearing on his computer screen. Letter by letter a message appeared on a blank black screen, the white letters in a standard typeset.

Do Shinigami exist? Do you believe in them?

Hibiki's message was different from Shizuka's message starting from that point onwards. It read:

In seven days, you will die. You will become a shinigami. Should you reject your fate, decide not to become one, your brother will die. There is no guarantee for the future. Choose your destiny wisely.

Meanwhile, in Shizuka's room, his message read:

Choices need to be made. In seven days, you will lose your family and be accused of their murder. There is a way to save them before that, but you must erase this message now. Do not let Hibiki know. She is being told of the fate she will be forced to face if you cannot amount to the challenges that lie before you. Here she comes...

Shizuka, thinking quickly, didn't hesitate to erase the message. If what the white words meant was true, he wasn't going to take any chances. With the lives of his family at stake, this isn't a joking matter.

There's definitely something weird about this, he thought, listening to Hibiki's footsteps as she came down the hall towards his room. Whoever is writing this knows who we are, or, at least, they know Hibiki by her first name...

"Shizuka!" She crashed through the doorway, a look of panic on her face. "You have to see this!" She took his wrist and dragged him through the hall and back to the living room.

She pointed to the computer screen with a shaking hand. He read the message, silently mouthing the words to himself. He remembered what the words that had appeared on his computer screen said, and, knowing that he could not mention the message he had seen to Hibiki, he feigned ignorance and told her, "It's probably just a prank. Someone hacked the computer and wanted to screw with you sis." Leaning over, he hit the 'delete' button, and the message disappeared. The screen remained black for a few seconds, then returned to its original, pre-message state.

Ruffling her hair, he looked down at her with a smile. "But how-" The fear in her eyes was clear and bothered Shizuka, though he knew he couldn't do anything else to reassure her. The words he wanted desperately to say hovered in front of him.

"Hibiki, it's nothing but a hacker." His hand rested on her head for another moment before he let it fall. "Don't worry, no matter what happens, I'll protect you." That was as much as he could say without letting anything out about the message that had appeared on his own computer screen. He wanted to return to his room right away and see if anything else had appeared on his computer, but he knew he couldn't leave too soon.

All those years he had played the part of the caring brother, more than that, he was a caring brother. He knew that if he didn't continue trying to reassure her, she would know something had happened to him too.

However, there was one thing he was counting on. Hibiki was dependent, but she liked to act independent. She liked to act strong and make herself believe she didn't need anybody else's help.

"Do you want me stay with you a while?" He asked, placing his hand on her head in a reassuring way. He already knew she would refuse his offer, and he was counting on that as an excuse to leave.

She waved him away, saying "I have a paper to write." She sat back down at the computer screen and clicked on the symbol for the word document she used to write in English. Normal, black on white background words appeared on the screen and she resumed her work.

He took that sentence as his excuse to leave and return to his room.

The screen was still black, but a new message had appeared.

You have obeyed the first instruction. Good. This means you can be trusted. Throughout the next seven days, different tasks will be asked of you. If you complete them, your fate and the fates of everyone in your family, and even others that would have been influenced in the current future, will be changed forever. Now that you have started this, there will be no going back.

Will you make the right decisions? Are you ready to start?

YES NO

Shizuka sat down at his computer, staring at the screen with his hand hovering over the mouse. The message said his decisions would influence the lives of more than just his family. Who else will be affected? Will it be for better or worse?

Thoughts of his parents and Hibiki filled his head. What would happen to them if he clicked 'no'? Would they actually die?

Or is this really the work of a hacker?

If it is a hacker, they are watching both of them at that exact moment, or they know exactly when they use the computer and how long it would take for Shizuka to return.

Even if it is because of a stalker, what's the worst that can happen? As long as the tasks don't involve hurting someone else or doing something illegal, they can't do too much damage.

Slowly moving the mouse as he reassured himself that everything would be fine and that he couldn't risk the lives of his family and the others, he clicked on 'YES.'

The message disappeared and was soon replaced by:

You have made the right decision. Nothing can be done for today. Your first mission out of seven will appear tomorrow. Get rest and prepare an excuse to miss school for the week. People would get suspicious if you ditch spontaneously.

Do not draw attention to yourself. Do not act suspicious. If you tell anyone about these messages, everything will fall apart. Be discreet.

He kept staring at the computer. Is there a hint in the message? Is there something in there that will tell him what will happen tomorrow?

He knows that whatever will happen is going to place from morning to mid-afternoon, maybe later.

He deletes the message; for fear that someone might come into his room and ruin the plan. When lives are at stake, mistakes cannot be made.

A normal person would be under any extreme amount of stress, with all the pressure that is being put on him, the weight of other people's lives would crush anyone. Shizuka Aida, of course, is not normal. He didn't know this yet, but if the plan the unknown messenger does not work, he will be forced to fight for his and Hibiki's lives. In that battle, he will have to use every ounce of wit and logic he has. Facing up to that lets the world know that he has the ability to think quickly and logically through any situation.

The message writer knows this. The message writer knows everything that Shizuka will go through in the future.

That night, at dinner, Shizuka forces a smile on his face and pretends as though everything is fine. Hibiki, however, is nervous. The look of distress is shown plainly on her face, but her father is not home and her mother cannot see.

Shizuka glances reassuringly across the table at her and smiles, though it's an empty, fake smile.

He goes to bed that night with thoughts running through his head and dreams of what will happen. In no way, however, can he possibly imagine what will befall him on the coming day.


	2. Day 1, Part 1: Meeting

The first morning looks the same as all the others. The sun shines through the open curtains of the window right next to his bed as he wakes up, turning off the alarm clock with a sleepy hand. Yawn, stretch, get out of bed; nothing out of the ordinary.

Anyone watching would have seen nothing unusual, except the computer showing a message being typed without anyone touching the keys. The message read:

Today is the day of your first mission. Failure to complete this mission will leave you unable to complete the rest. If you are still willing to take the risk of losing your life, click YES. If you desire to revoke your previous decision, click NO.

YES NO

Shizuka, of course, knew it would be better to try, even if that meant failure, than to let the events fall into place without a single effort towards prevention. He clicked YES.

Good. I knew you would still be willing. Just wanted to make sure. You're first mission will require you to travel to the other end of the Chiba prefecture, specifically near Shibayama. The person you are required to meet with will be waiting for you at a café, though I cannot specify which one. That will be one of your tasks. I can however, help you. "Wish for prosperity upon a shooting star."

This last phrase was the only part of the entire message that was written in English. It didn't take more than a second for Shizuka to realize this was a hint in itself. The name of the café had something to do with the English language. Either it was popular in an area that spoke English as a dominant language, or it would be written in Katakana so it would sound like English.

The first part of the message disappeared and was replaced with:

The person you are searching for will be sitting at a table farthest from the door and close to a window, all the way in the back. They will have placed a pen in the middle of the table. Do not pay attention to the pen. The person you meet there will ask you many questions. Always answer "yes." Never deny what they are saying or refuse an offer, even if you have to lie. This is important. Make the person trust you and then follow them. Then, at the last possible moment, stop them. This won't be enough to stop the rest of the events that will take place this week, but it will buy you another opportunity to interfere. However, heed my warning, one slip of the tongue and that person won't hesitate to kill you. The next message will appear tonight, if you have succeeded with today's mission.

The computer screen faded to grey, and then the computer turned itself off.

Shizuka sat there for a moment, staring at the black screen, thinking over the information he had been given.

_Wish for prosperity upon a shooting star._

Taking out the extra words, only for useful ones remained. "Wish," "prosperity," "shooting," and "star." "Shooting" was connected to "star" so it could almost be ruled out as having a deeper meaning. Shizuka, unlike most people, refused to knock out any possibilities, even the ones that seemed most unlikely. He would come up with as many scenarios as possible given the words he had.

He pushed the button on his computer, but nothing happened. The computer did not turn on. No matter how many times he tried, the screen remained black. He couldn't go out without alerting Hibiki and his father that he was awake, and he wouldn't be able to use the computer in the living room anyways. His father would be on it by now. It became clear to him that he was no meant to use technology to figure out the riddle. He was on his own.

_What cafés are there in Shibayama that were also in an English-dominant country?_ he asked himself. _What does it have to do with wishing upon stars for prosperity? Does it have something to do with astrology, like being named after a constellation? Where in Shibayama am I supposed to go? Since the message said to the "other end" the café must be located in the outskirts. The subway should take me close enough, then the Shibayama Line should take me the rest of the way, but first I need to know which café I'm supposed to go to…_

"_Stars" and "prosperity." _He thought, quietly pacing his room. _Prosperity is something English people must take pride in… Maybe quantity? "Large star" "Numerous stars". No, none of these sound right. The currency in London is Euro and in America it's dollars…_

A name ran through his head. _Of course! That's it! That must be it! _

He ran to his closet and quickly dressed for school, deciding he needed to use an excuse to get there early, like a student council meeting taking place before school that he was planning to attend. He took extra clothes out of his closet and crammed them into his backpack, taking out the books and hiding them under his bed. If people saw a high school student wandering around town by himself, they may think he ditched, which he was going to do, but the last thing he wanted was to get caught before he could confront the person.

"I'm heading to school earlier this morning. The student council is holding a meeting on the upcoming events and they need me to help with the planning." He said to his father as he headed towards the front door.

"Alright. Have a nice day. Don't stay after school today. I won't be able to pick Hibiki up so I'll need you to walk her home today." His father said, not turning away from the computer screen to face Shizuka. He was extremely protective of Hibiki, especially since he had almost lost her and Shizuka's mother in that car accident. He never wanted Hibiki to be alone, in case she was put in danger. On days when he could leave work to drive her home, he asked Shizuka to walk her back.

Today, that request seemed impossible to fulfill, though Shizuka didn't tell his father that. He would just text Hibiki later and ask her to keep it a secret. She would want to know why but he would never be able to tell her… What would he say if someone figures out he skipped school or that he was going to leave his sister by herself the one time that she would need him. What if something happened? He was putting her in danger, and the only thing he hoped was that it would be worth it in the end.

Going into the garage, he pulled out his bike and sped off in the direction of school, in case his father or Hibiki was watching from a window. Turning at the coming intersection, he sped down the parallel street in the direct of the nearest subway station. He would have a long ride ahead of him, but if he could get there fast enough to catch the 8:00 subway, he might make it back in time to walk Hibiki home after all. But that's only if the meeting doesn't take too long, and he had a feeling it would.

He stood in front of Starbuck's café in Shibayama, wondering if the person was waiting for him, or if he was at the wrong place. He'd gotten a map of Shibayama when exiting the subway, and Starbuck's was still the only café that fit. This was the only Starbuck's on the outskirts of Shibayama. He had to be in the right place. The person he was supposed to meet had to be sitting in the back. He had other ideas, of course, but there wasn't enough time. He wasn't even sure he had made it in time.

The person on the other end of the computer hadn't specified a time, but how long would anyone wait for someone they aren't even sure is coming? If he missed his opportunity… No. He wouldn't screw everything up. He had already decided that.

A little bell rang when he entered the café and an automated robotic voice welcomed him in Japanese as he entered. Facing the menu so it wouldn't seem too obvious he was searching the tables, he looked out of the corner of his eye to the end of the café. Sure enough, there was a pen placed in the middle of the table closest to the window, farthest in the back, but nobody was sitting there. Was this a part of the plan? Is he supposed to sit there and wait for the person to return, or had they already gone and left the pen as a way to say they had been there but Shizuka had come too late?

He had stood at the counter so long it was his turn to order something.

"May I take your order?" A black hair clerk with dark eyes and a black jacket with fur trim around the edges asked. He was staring at Shizuka in an odd way, making Shizuka feel uncomfortable.

"Just a cappuccino." He answered with a short glance at the menu.

"Whipped cream on top?" The clerk took a cup off a stack without taking his eyes of Shizuka. The name tag on the apron he wore over his jacket said "Minamida."

"Yes."

"Name please."

"Shizuka."

"It'll be ready in a few minutes." It was only then that Minamida turned away.

Leaving the line and glancing quickly at the table he was supposed to go to, Shizuka saw it was still empty. He had already ordered something so he figured he might as well wait at that table, in case the person he was supposed to meet was watching him. He had a good half an hour, if he drank his cappuccino very, _very_ slowly. If nobody came at the end of that half hour, what would he do? What could he do? Clearly this was the right place and he couldn't think of anything that would help him find the person if they _had _left. He didn't know what they looked like. He didn't know their name.

The pen on the table in front of him was a regular blue pen. He couldn't see anything wrong in the quick second he stole to look at the pen, not daring to let his eyes linger on it. He wasn't supposed to look at it too long.

_Why is this here? _He thought to himself. _What is the importance of having a blue pen in the middle of the table? Are they watching? Listening? Waiting for me to say or do something? Or is this just meant as a way to mark the table?_

The café was close to Narita airport, the noise of airplanes departing drowning out the pop music blasting from the speakers in the store. The view out the window wasn't the greatest, but there was nothing else to look at. He couldn't examine the pen and looking around the café might draw attention to him. If the person he was supposed to meet _was_ watching him, waiting for something, he had to pretend to be a normal person, just waiting for coffee.

"Shizuka." Another clerk called his name at the pick-up counter. As he walked over, he noticed Minamida watching him while he was talking to another customer.

Picking up his coffee, he smiled at the clerk, paid, then turned around, pausing a moment to sip so he could look around.

Someone was sitting at the table he had just occupied. They were at the opposite end from the seat Shizuka had been sitting in, watching him. Avoiding eye contact, Shizuka made his way towards the table.

The middle aged man watched Shizuka as he sat down. He had pale orange hair, damaged from the bleaching. His eyebrows were a dark brown color matching his eyes. He had a small amount of facial hair that would make a beard but had been shaved recently. A thin scar traveled from his right ear to halfway across his cheek, angling upwards at the end. Acne scars plagued the man's nose and forehead.

Shizuka had never seen him, but there was a look of recognition on the man's face as he watched Shizuka.

"Shizuka Aida?" The man's voice was low and scratchy, like he had a cold.

"Yes." Shizuka did as he was told, answering the first question with a yes, even though his instincts told him he should lie, giving a fake name as a precaution when talking to a stranger.

"Were you asked to come here?"

"Yes."

"Do you know who?"

Yes." The first lie. He had no idea who the other person was, though he knew they had something to do with whatever was going to take place the end of the week, or they at least knew too much about it. The fact that they were being secretive meant that if someone found out they were warning him, they would likely be killed or injured somehow. Why are they going through so much trouble in order to warn him? And what will happen to them if he doesn't succeed today and the rest of the days?

"Was it Akihiko?" The man's right hand, which had been resting nonchalantly on the table curled into a fist.

"Yes." Who is Akihiko?

"He send you to spy on me, didn't he? That bastard. He's paying you, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"I see. Whatever he's paying you, I'll pay double, you just have to help me. You in?"

"Yes." _What is he going to do? Who is Akihiko? Why would Akihiko need to spy on this man, whoever he is? Does Akihiko know about this? Is he connected to the person typing messages to me? _

So many questions with no answers. The man was quiet. He put away the pen and stared out the window. Shizuka sipped his coffee, acting apathetic.

"You ever kill anyone?" The man asked, breaking the silence. He watched Shizuka carefully.

Shizuka put down his coffee while making eye contact with the man. His eyes were cold as ice when he replied, "Yes." His kept eye contact for another moment before turning his head to look out the window while taking another sip of his cappuccino. It had grown nearly cold during their conversation. Shizuka had an uncanny knack for appearing apathetic and cold, even murderous at times. He had scared Hibiki a few times when he had threatened two boys in her class who had been bullying her a few years ago. They avoided her at any cost now.

The man's face had become apprehensive as he stared at Shizuka. He waited until Shizuka had finished his cappuccino before saying "Let's go then, no more time to waste."

Without saying a word, Shizuka stood and pushed in his chair, watching the man with eyes only open a slit. He seemed far more intimidating that way.

The man led the way out of the café and to a silver Toyota, glancing back towards Shizuka a few times. He got into the driver's seat, and Shizuka slid into the passenger's seat without a word.

He left the door unlock and kept his thumb on the button of his seatbelt, ready to run if this turned out to be a trap. He didn't completely trust the messages appearing on his computer, nor did he trust the man driving the car.

Still, he wasn't going to risk ignoring the messages. What if they turned out to be true?

The car ride was quick and quiet, the man occasionally glancing at Shizuka who casually kept his gaze towards the road in front. They pulled up in front of a house.

All the blinds were pulled over the windows of the simple, one story home. It appeared as though nobody was home, but the car in the open one-car garage spoke differently.

"Akihiko's home." The man said. Before opening the door and exiting, he opened the glove compartment. It was empty. His hand reached towards the back and slid open a custom made panel that wasn't easily detectable at first glance. Behind it, an automated pistol.

He planned on killing Akihiko. What did he need Shizuka for then?

The question was answered a second later. "Go in there and distract him. I'll sneak in through the back and kill that bastard. Take this." He handed the pen that had been on the table to Shizuka. "You betray me, and you'll take the first bullet, got it?"

"Yes." The pen was a listening device. The man had known when Shizuka had arrived from the noise he made when he sat down at the table. He must have hear the clerk call Shizuka's name before he picked up his coffee too.

Shizuka knew as he exited the car and made his way towards the front door that he would have to choose his words very carefully in order to convince the man that he was planning on helping him kill Akihiko. That would mean making sure Akihiko responded in the right ways, like they were two colleagues discussing a plan that had failed. He'd have to draw the right reactions at the right moments and keep the conversation going long enough for the man to sneak in.

And he knew exactly what he would say.


End file.
